Running a business can be a lonely journey when you travel alone. You can’t share every challenge with your team, your friends and family may not understand, and your own mind plays tricks on you in an effort to keep you safe. But thriving in business requires support. Cheerleaders, a hype squad, people who remind you that you’re brilliant when you forget. The presence of these people can mark the difference between a resounding success and a disappointing failure. So what’s the solution?
How To Build Your Entrepreneur Support Team
Jadah Sellner is an author and business coach with a mission to help people build sustainable businesses and live consciously. To do this, she said, “You need a support team.” As host of the Lead with Love podcast and author of the upcoming book, She Builds: The Busy Guide to Growing Your Business and Feeding Your LifeSellner shares the tips and tactics for finding and building your squad, including the tips and tactics she’s implemented in her own company.
According to Sellner, your support team is “a group of people you can count on to keep you motivated, focused and accountable, who will provide support on both an emotional and soul level as you build your business and life.”
Here are the three categories of your support team members and how to find them.
Contents
1. Colleagues and colleagues
Colleagues and colleagues are the first pillar of your support team tripod. Sellner wants you to ask yourself, “Do I have colleagues in similar stages of business and life to lean on for support?” If the answer is no, then find them. Sellner’s main sparring buddy is fellow entrepreneur Tamika Lewis. “We schedule an hour-long conference call every Tuesday night after our kids sleep. We spend five minutes catching up, then we share what we’re working on, brainstorm ideas, and identify the next steps to take for our next phone call. ”
During the conversations, Lewis and Sellner share resources and time-saving tools. They encourage each other to continue. “Not only do we give each other advice to overcome resistance, we also deepen our friendship.” Sellner believes that building a support system is more than having someone to help you complete your tasks, it’s about “having trusted friends who will listen and offer advice when you’re in the trenches.”
Book purposefully in regular conversations with one trusted person. Or, Sellner advised, “create your mastermind group.” Here you determine who is in the group, invite them, determine where you connect and how you will meet, and structure your meetings so that everyone can express challenges and receive guidance. Schedule regular meetings to feel supported and see your business thrive.
2. Mentors and advisors
Your peers and peers can act as informal mentors and share specific strategies you can implement, but intentional mentorship is a separate part of your support team building. “As entrepreneurs, we often need to quickly close the gap in our knowledge,” says Sellner, who defines a mentor as “an experienced and trusted individual who believes in you and your vision, especially when self-doubt creeps in.” Not only do they help get you back on track, but “they can share valuable resources with you and suggest strategies you might not come up with on your own.”
How To Build Your Entrepreneur Support Team
Alignment is the keyword here. “If you’re not getting a handle on your business, it could mean you haven’t found a teacher that’s right for you yet.” Following advice you do not believe in will not lead you to take inspired action. Your mentors and advisors should have a track record that “aligns with your personal and professional values.” They will lead according to those credentials.
Do you have a mentor and coach to guide and advise you on business strategy? If not, look them up. Ask for recommendations, search the web and see who is following your mission. Make your list of dream mentors and ask if they are open to giving a second opinion. Sellner says you don’t have to be shy. “Bringing yourself out might feel awkward at first, but it’s so important and will lead you to surprising opportunities.”
3. Coaches and therapists
The rollercoaster of entrepreneurship can be felt in one day, let alone throughout a career. “On any given day, we can experience emotions ranging from excitement, pride, hope and confidence to disappointment, fear, anxiety and frustration,” Sellner said. That’s a lot to work through. “We are forced to examine our triggers and cultivate greater self-awareness because running a business is the ultimate test of personal growth.”
Sellner recommends that you “have a life coach and therapist who support your emotional and mental well-being.” The goal of these people is to “create a safe space to explore what’s going on emotionally, psychologically, and even spiritually.” They help identify how these issues can affect our professional success.
“Therapists are licensed and regulated and can diagnose and treat mental illness,” Sellner said. “Life coaches are specialists who ask skillful questions and facilitate strategic planning, including reformulating your beliefs, helping you break free, and holding you accountable.” She said a life coach is most effective if you’re “looking for practical business and career-building strategies that will help you progress toward your goals,” but believes “all the business strategies in the world won’t work.” work when there are emotional blocks in your path.” Tackle the blocks to move forward with ease and grace.
How to build your support team
“Entrepreneurship involves a number of emotional things, and we need support, tools and strategies to get through times of uncertainty and stress,” Sellner concluded. By enlisting the support of peers, mentors and coaches, your community will come together and be ready to soar.
Building your support team is simple: ask the question. If you don’t ask, your ideal members won’t know you need them. Sellner’s final advice is not to take rejection personally. “A lot of people won’t respond,” she said. “This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with their obligations and priorities. Take rejection as a diversion. Trust that the right connections at the right time will grow into something deeper.” Lay the groundwork by asking the questions and wait patiently to see where they lead.
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.